Rabu, 01 Oktober 2014

It's time to demystify the varied discus fish types available in today's market

By Randy Green


Purchasing discus for the 1st time can be rather puzzling because there are currently lots of phenotypic strains being sold around the world. Discus fish are bred not just in the US, but also in places such as HK and Malaysia.

You don't need to commit to memory all of the strains, but a working awareness of how these strains came about to start with will be beneficial in deciding what you need right now. Many individuals ask me about the original convict fish. Should you be looking for the ma of all discus fish, then you are talking about the wild Heckel discus strain.

The Heckel discus, or Symphysodon discus, is named after J. Heckel, a Viennese ichthyologist who was ready to identify, describe, and officially catalog the discus fish. The true wild Heckel discus strain found in the Amazon Basin. It has got a light yellow-brown body with 2 thick and outstanding stripes: one that crosses the centre of the body, and another one that crosses the centre of the fishs face.

The black stripe that crosses the face is often referred to as the fifth stripe, and is characteristic of a real Symphysodon discus. The Heckel discus is touted as the most challenging strain to keep and breed, because it is extraordinarily particular with water pH levels and tank temperature.

However , don't let this frighten you. I invite beginners to try their hand in raising a wild strain because this is going to help you understand discus fish as a whole. If you succeed in keeping and perhaps even breeding wild discus fish, you are in a prime position to raise any phenotypic strain from any piece of the world!

Now, unless stated otherwise, most, if not all of the colourful phenotypic subspecies you will be seeing pet stores is a derivative of Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod, or the brown discus. According to several private breeders, Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod and its composites are way easier to keep than Symphysodon discus. Nevertheless this is not to assert that you can just plop this strain of discus in just any tank. You still need to be knowledgeable about water quality wants, or else your discus fish will succumb and die.

Now that we are done with the preliminaries of identifying discus fish, let us look at some common phenotypic subspecies so you can decide what sort of discus fish you would like for your tank at home:

Green discus One of the original subspecies of Symphysodon Aequifasciatus, the green discus also has a 5th stripe across its face. The body has a characteristic light green coloration, and brownish horizontal streaks from head to tail.

Blue discus. The blue discus has a predominant blue hue against a rusty orange backdrop. The 5th stripe exists , but less outstanding matched against the Heckel discus and green discus. The head-to-tail streaks or striations are white mingled with blue.

Red discus.Red discus are generally deep orange in color, with very little striation and virtually invisible stripes. The fins are white tipped, with very deep orange or red.

White leopard discus. White leopard discus don't have the stripes of the wild strain. It is deep orange in colour, with characteristic white leopard-like spots from head to tail.

Blue diamond discus. The blue diamond discus is blue all over! It doesn't have stripes, streaks, or striations, save for the brownish tail.




About the Author:



Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar